Acute care

WikiDoc Resources for Acute care
Articles
Most recent articles on Acute care Most cited articles on Acute care Review articles on Acute care Articles on Acute care in N Eng J Med, Lancet, BMJ
Media
Powerpoint slides on Acute care Images of Acute care Photos of Acute care Podcasts & MP3s on Acute care Videos on Acute care
Evidence Based Medicine
Cochrane Collaboration on Acute care Bandolier on Acute care TRIP on Acute care
Clinical Trials
Ongoing Trials on Acute care at Clinical Trials.gov Trial results on Acute care Clinical Trials on Acute care at Google
Guidelines / Policies / Govt
US National Guidelines Clearinghouse on Acute care NICE Guidance on Acute care NHS PRODIGY Guidance FDA on Acute care CDC on Acute care
Books
Books on Acute care
News
Acute care in the news Be alerted to news on Acute care News trends on Acute care
Commentary
Blogs on Acute care
Definitions
Definitions of Acute care
Patient Resources / Community
Patient resources on Acute care Discussion groups on Acute care Patient Handouts on Acute care Directions to Hospitals Treating Acute care Risk calculators and risk factors for Acute care
Healthcare Provider Resources
Symptoms of Acute care Causes & Risk Factors for Acute care Diagnostic studies for Acute care Treatment of Acute care
Continuing Medical Education (CME)
CME Programs on Acute care
International
Acute care en Espanol Acute care en Francais
Business
Acute care in the Marketplace Patents on Acute care
Experimental / Informatics
List of terms related to Acute care

Acute care refers to necessary treatment of a disease for only a short period of time in which a patient is treated for a brief but severe episode of illness. Many hospitals are acute care facilities with the goal of discharging the patient as soon as the patient is deemed healthy and stable, with appropriate discharge instructions.

The term is generally associated with care rendered in an emergency department, ambulatory care clinic, or other short term stay facility. An important aspect of the current health care crisis in the US is the result of the growing need for acute care despite a decrease in the number of facilities which provide that care. This mismatch has resulted from the dramatic increase in the number of patients who are uninsured or underinsured, and therefore unable to pay for services rendered. Those patients often turn to emergency departments for their acute care needs. That has resulted in overcrowding and made it increasingly difficult to focus adequate resources on those patients who present with true emergencies. x